There exist various medical tubes, hoses or lines which function to administer fluids (liquid or gas), medicines and/or nourishment into the body of a patient. In some embodiments, the patient is an animal, for example, a dog or a cat. IV lines are typically thin, flexible, plastic tubes that run from a bottle or bag of liquid a certain distance to an injection needle or to an intravenous catheter placed in a vein in the patient's body. Medicines may be injected into the IV system and infused into the fluid contained in the bottle or bag. The rate or speed of the infusion is typically set or controlled by a roller clamp on the tube, by a balloon that squeezes out the medicine, or by an electronic pump. Gas tubes are somewhat similar to IV lines, and typically transmit oxygen gas from a tank to a mask or small tubes (e.g., nasal cannula) placed just inside the nostrils. Feeding tubes transmit liquid food or nutrients from a bag or bottle to a tube placed in the stomach or the small intestine. The tube may go in through the nose or via the wall of the stomach. Liquids in IV lines must be sterile to avoid introducing germs into the bloodstream and causing infections. The IV lines must be handled carefully to keep germs out of the patient's body. Tube feedings and oxygen tubes should be kept clean, but do not have to be sterile.
From time-to-time, patients, particularly animals, resist having medical tubes attached to them. The tubing may cause discomfort. Also, animals are naturally inclined to attempt to remove such devices by licking or biting the device. If the patient removes the device, the effect of the medication, feeding or breathing means will be lost, resulting in a danger to the patient. At the very least, this necessitates reapplication of a new tube, incurring added expense in both time and money.
For animals, a common device to deter this removal is the placement of a collar on the animal so that it cannot gain access to the device. This is not always effective and thus a solution to this problem has been to devise a means to deter the animal from removing the therapeutic device.
In addition to the collar, there exists a means to deter animals from licking, chewing or removing bandages, wraps, and the like attached to the animal for treatment of wounds and surgical incisions. A product, STOPLIK™ Lick Deterrent System, is manufactured and sold by Rockway, Inc. of Spring Valley, Wis., USA. This deterrent device includes an adhesive strip with low electric current for application to the body of an animal either on, over or adjacent to a wound or injury to deter or discourage the animal from aggregating the wound by licking or chewing on the wound or the wrap or bandage. This device is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,896,830 and 6,453,850. This device comprises a strip-like laminate body, adhesively coated on the inward side and with printed conductors on the outward side connected to a battery. When the animal attempts to remove the wound wrapping by licking or biting, a low voltage electrical shock is administered when the tongue contacts both terminals of the printed conductive surface.
The existing technology is believed to have limitations and shortcomings. A need therefor exists for improvements.